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Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Being a dad with 2 daughters, sometimes I will wonder are my girls able to protect themselves against bullies or bad guys on the streets. I was indeed tempted to send them to learn some martial arts or classes like Taekwondo, Karate, Kendo, etc.

Thank God for listening to my prayers, one day I was introduced to KAPAP which is the acronym for Krav Panim el Panim, translating as face-to-face combat. Now the girls have a chance to understand more about self-defense.Cadre Academy is KAPAP’s home for Asia Pacific.The main difference between KAPAP and the other martial art lessons is that KAPAP focuses on principles and concepts, rather than techniques. This is a program adopted by many Special Forces around the world, like the famous elite Israeli Special Forces.It doesn’t just teaches you the moves or actions, it is more like a concept-based lesson which makes it easier for learners to remember, retain and apply in real-life situations.

Cadre Academy is the only authorized center in Singapore to teach KAPAP. Master Leon Koh who is the Principal Coach is the lead representative that is trained and appointed by the Grandmaster Avi Nardia to represent KAPAP with the permission to use the name, trademarks and logos in the Asia Pacific region. Master Leon Koh was also the National Taekwondo Coach that brought us the recent 28th SEA Games Taekwondo Gold Medalists.

We were invited for a combined introductory session for both adults and family. By the way, KAPAP is suitable for kids as young as 5 years old. Kids can build a strong foundation in their cardiovascular endurance, balance, strength, flexibility and mental alertness which are all vital to self-defense knowledge.

Master Leon brought us through a series of warm ups, tips on stretching, and even fun games to help us understand the difference in performance martial arts and street self-defense moves.

We played a game of kicking the ball to hit the opponent team, catch is … we are not allowed to stand up and only to move on all fours.

A great game of learning and bonding with the kids!

End up I had some abrasions on both my knees as we played the game, because I was dragging my legs instead of moving with my legs up. Lesson learnt – in real “street fights” the ground would not be cushioned like we had at the studio, it would be worst than just abrasions. Hence, learning the correct concept of body movements like this would already be very useful. All through just the opening game. Nice!

Next we were taught how to fall and rise up in the correct posture. This simple move really tested our abs and Joey was pretty good as you can see in her excellent pose.

How to apply this move in the streets? When we are down and the attacker is coming towards us, we can be in this position and get ready to defend and break the attacker’s move. Easier said than done, but the repetition lessons are designed for students to remember the steps and the body will follow in times of emergency.

As Master Leon demonstrated, in this position even as so many of us are piling on top of him, he is still able to talk normal and not crushed under our combined weight. Quite amazing I must say.

When you face an imminent danger, will your fist be clenched or opened?Most of us would likely be clenching our fists and getting ready to throw a punch or block the attack. But do you know that in KAPAP, you will be taught to always keep your fists open? Because this is pose of lesser threat to the person standing opposite you as compared to a clenched fist ready to fight. More than just a pose of lesser threat, an opened fist presents greater strength of resistance to a clenched fist. Don’t just take my word for it, try it like the pose below.

When your fist is clenched, it is easier for the other person to pull down the out-stretched arm. When the fist is opened, the resistance level is much higher, even when it is Jayne doing in on Kless. Important tips for ladies.

It was a great time of fun and different learning for me and the girls.

KAPAP Family forges a spirit of bonding not in the usual comfortable moments, but also in the tough real life situations. It’s a great way for kids to learn hand-to-hand battle skills, to stay strong and fit in a fun setting, and learn to stay calm and confident in the face of dangers.

GIVEAWAY!

All thanks to Cadre Academy, I’ll be giving away 2 sessions of Family KAPAP to 2 winners!Which means you and your family (2 Adults + 2 or 3 Kids) can enjoy 2 free sessions together.

Follow the instructions below and stand a chance to win.The giveaway will run from today till 28 Feb 2018, 10pm. All the best!

Thursday, December 21, 2017

On a physical level, nothing is more demanding than a 42km Full Marathon race for me. Cos there was a time I have been advised by doctors to give up running all together. But I did it!

I think this is has to be the longest personal project I have embarked on, a 2-year training starting Jan 2016. Gearing towards the finale on 3 Dec 2017 where I challenged my first Full Marathon (42km).

Training was going on well and my runs were progressing fine all until May this year, when I had to undergo a totally unforeseen retinal detachment surgery and I was out for 5 months from May to Sep, not running a single step. I seriously thought that my dream is once again gone and everything seems bleak and down. 1.5 years of training all wasted, it was like tripping just before the finishing line and got to be taken out.

Thank God for amazing support from friends all around me. 2 brothers from my cell group decided to sign up for the FM race just to show their support, thinking that even if I cannot run and fulfill my dream, at least they can help me fulfill it. But their support spurred me on and provided that additional push of faith in myself and I started to pick it up in Oct. It was tough, running less than 2km in my first run after 5 month’s break, my knees were pain and I was totally out of breath. To keep the long story short, I pushed on and eventually managed to clear two 10-12km run before the race day.

All these could not be possible without the greatest supporter I have, my wife. Right from the beginning she has never doubted me, always encouraging me, even when I had my surgery, she was reassuring me that I can still run after the recovery. She has more faith than I had in myself. Just like the bible says, “when one man finds a wife, he obtains a good thing.” I truly believe I have obtained the best thing in life when I married her.

Fast forward, I am a proud winner of my personal dream, to complete a Full Marathon. Will I do it again? YES!Don’t ask me why, but running has not just become a way of exercise, but it has become a way of discipline and constant reminder that God is good in my life. A reminder of all the love and support I have received. A reminder that I can fulfill any dreams if I can just believe.

Thursday, November 23, 2017

I think carnivals are the best way to promote family bonding. What better ways than food, games and prizes?

How not to get a “NOooooo” when painting your hands?

Do it when everyone else is doing it too.

Organized by Touch Community, this simple act of hand prints on wall will serve to remind people of equality and unity.

The J Babies’ handprints.

We have been to many carnivals before, and the girls will always pester us to play at the game stalls.

If not for charity, I seriously believe that we are (the girls are) throwing money towards something that was designed for fun but not for winning.

But no matter what, I am learning that family outings are not so much on how much we spend or not spend. It’s the time when we build memories that will last. And I want to create memories with my family that carnivals are fun because we are able to enjoy fun and do charity at the same time.

Isn’t it enough to see this face of contentment? =)

To add on to the great day, this is the first time both girls won something from the games.

PS. my mom won’t be too happy with the additions of soft toys at home.. hahaha..

Thursday, November 16, 2017

A few weeks back our family finally fulfilled a long standing wish of the ladies. Read it right, the man in the house aka me was not the least interested in camping.

I mean which man who has gone through army’s field camp (except the really minority) would say they loved the experience. Sleeping on hard uneven ground, tents pitched with less than enough enthusiasm, bugs and sorts crawling all over the place, and if you are lucky like me, rain and soggy muddy field.

That was the background of camping for me and no amount of words or pictures can I manage to lower the ladies’ excitement of this camping trip. Well, at least the venue is not some ulu places but the East Coast Park.

A brief understanding what is glamping. A simple way to understand is camping with style and much more comfort. No bugs, no hard sleeping floor (in fact you have beds), no fear of rain, no fear of being attack by wild boar, no army officers to shout at you! Hahaha..

We were treated to a luxurious 6-man tent, so we invited a fee friends over for some gathering and fun.

Check out the interior decorated like bohemian style, rugs and all.

Here are a few cool facts about glamping.

1. No need to set up the tent on your own. All is done nicely and securely for you (I mean that is what you are paying for). So just bring your barang barang and bunk in.

2. Simple food are provided for you and your group. Be wild and free, that’s all we need to do!

3. Just relax and enjoy. We basically just packed our change of clothing for sleep, the rest are taken care of. There was even a flamingo float for those who are interested to ride the ECP waves.

4. Plan a BBQ. Okay, we didn’t cos we were lazy to bring all the stuff and food. McDelivery is available.

5. Enjoy the sunset! This is probably the main reason for having it at East Coast Park. The sunset was stunning!

Last but not the least, spend a great evening with the missus. No camping or glamping is complete without the missus completing her wish.

Thursday, October 26, 2017

As we grow older, do we become more fearful or fearless of things around us?For me, I knew my fears pretty early in life – fear of heights, fear of roller-coaster, fear of cockroaches. And sadly, the 3 fears have grown up together with me, like my unwanted best friends.

So I was fascinated to see how this phenomena will turn out in my girls’ lives.

Just a few years back, I remembered that Joey was still a timid girl, not willing to try most of the activities that required her to climb or jump or with speed. Of course, I am more than willing to accompany her since I am one not given to fast speed activities too. But on hind sight, I am thinking did I stifle her growth in courage or trust by not encouraging her to try?Jayne on the other hand, was more willing to take the water slides and do the 4D rides, etc.

As time passed, things seems to change a bit. Joey grew bolder and Jayne took lesser interest in the exciting stuff.

We brought the girls to a small indoor rock climbing studio recently. Hoping that the girls will have a chance to try it out and learn something new. Especially for Jayne, she has always like to do such rock climbing activities.

My Little Climbing Room is situated at Promenade @ Pelikat, which is in Hougang area. As you can see, it is quite a colorful place and both my girls liked it immediately.

The climbing walls are categorized as fun, beginners, intermediate and advance. The fun walls are like the ones shown above, where the kids can just climb up and touch randomly selected numbers or go through the hula-hoops. Both of these walls do not required other equipment or ropes.

In fact, when Joey stood beside the number wall, she is almost half way there.

While Jayne took a bit more effort, but nonetheless it was not difficult for them.

Joey gave up on the hula-hoops obstacle course as she is more like her dad, quite stiff boned. Thankfully, we still have Jayne (that’s why it’s good to have more than one child). And her size is just perfect.

Another fun wall is to climb and touch the dots on the wall, and do it in the fastest time.

So far so good, until when we got to the more serious climbs. This was when I was suddenly buffered by Jayne’s reactions.

Jayne the courageous girl has become the timid gal, she was afraid of the heights and possible fall even though she was tightly supported by the ropes. On the other hand, Joey passed the test! She conquered all the 3 levels of rock climbing walls and was eager to do it again and again (until her fingers are too tired to grip anything).

What happened??

Is Jayne going through a stage of self realization? Realizing that she is not that “garang” anymore? Are the changes due to peer pressure in school?One became fearful and the other became fearless.

Girls, if you are reading this post, Daddy is not telling you to be fearful or fearless. In life, never swing to the extremes, there is nothing absolutely fearful nor is there anything absolutely fearless.

“Fear not, be of good cheer, be strong and courageous.”

Don’t be fearful of anything, cos you have daddy and Daddy to take care of you. But be of good courage, learn to say “no” or to protect yourself when the need arises.Don’t be fearless and live life with no discipline. Only with discipline can one learn to build character.